The Devils walked into the draft with a feeling of uncertainty. After the top 3-4 players there was a lot of disparity on where players were going to end up. The Devils had to sit and wait, letting the first 10 teams determine what their move was going to be. They watched as the favorite pick of the Devils fan base, Clayton Keller, deservingly go 7th overall to the Arizona Coyotes, who was followed by the elite right wing talent Alex Nylander. So the Devils were left with the group of Logan Brown, Tyson Jost, Jakub Chychrun and Mikhail Sergachev. It seemed that Shero was going to pick whichever of the three fell to him. So when Sergachev and Jost were the next two picks the Devils were left with the 6’6″ center from Windsor and the elite defenseman from Sarnia. Many would have been pleased to draft Logan Brown. An elite playmaking center with size, certainly tantalizing. Yet the Devils did not feel the same. They traded the 11th overall pick to Ottawa for the 12th overall pick. Ottawa picked Logan Brown and the Devils were left with Chychrun, who before the season was Auston Matthews rival for the first overall pick. The Devils did not pick Jakub Chychrun. With the 12th overall pick the Devils selected from the Mississauga Steelheads, Michael McLeod.

Many were flustered by the pick. The early word on McLeod was he was the fastest skater in the draft but couldn’t finish. Many fans probably thought “Great, another guy who can’t score.” and “Why did we pass on Logan Brown for him?” Michael McLeod might just be the guy the Devils need. The Devils routinely struggled last year to get the puck out of their own zone and into the oppositions. Nobody in the OHL did that better than McLeod, and it isn’t even close. The Devils were one of the slower teams last year. As previously stated, McLeod is the fastest skater in the draft. The Devils need playmakers, McLeod does that too as he is a very good passer with creativity and vision. If anything his passing ability is on par with or slightly worse than Logan Brown. Which brings us to the next point, Logan Brown being a far better option.

The knock on McLeod is that he can’t finish, he had the same amount of goals last year as Logan Brown with 21. The two are not that far away from each other talent-wise. Brown does have the size but besides using it for puck possession he doesn’t play big. McLeod and Brown are equally effect on the boards due to McLeod’s high rate of play and work ethic. Michael McLeod is a tremendous talent who will go on to be a match up nightmare in the NHL. He is versatile as he plays both power play and penalty kill time in Mississauga. He can play both center and wing but will probably stick as a center do to his great 200-ft game. McLeod’s speed also can’t be emphasized enough. The Devils haven’t had a player this fast in a long while. We will soon see McLeod lining up against Dylan Larkin to determine who the faster skater is at the skills competition. Many say he is just a fast Travis Zajac, which isn’t a huge knock on McLeod, but he is closer to his Ryan Kesler comp. He does lack an NHL ready shot and his deking can get better, but these are two areas of his game he can work on over the course of the year. In the end the Michael McLeod pick was a success despite early criticism.

With pick 41 the Devils drafted Michael McLeod’s line mate and close friend Nathan Bastian. A right wing from the Mississauga Steelheads, Bastian is a big power forward. Standing 6’4″ and weighing 205 lbs, he has the size to be an NHL player. He was the third wheel on the Steelhead’s top line that consisted of McLeod, Alex Nylander, and Bastian. He excels in the hardworking aspects of the game such as working the corners and driving hard to the net. He uses his size well while also skating at an above average level. Many have compared him to James Van Riemsdyk. He finished the year with 59 points and 19 of them being goals. One aspect of this pick is the chemistry between McLeod and Bastian. It is extremely evident in the highlights of each player and hopefully it can continue through their development. As with the first round this pick was a solid pick but could have been better. Jonathan Dahlen is arguably a better prospect, profiled here, and was taken the pick after by the Senators. Dahlen possesses more speed and skill but Bastian does his parts of the game well too. Only time will tell who was the better option.

After trading for a 3rd 3rd round pick Ray Shero did what most thought he was going to do with at least one of the picks, trade it. For sending the 77th overall pick to Pittsburgh the Devils received the oft injured Beau Bennett. The former first round pick did little to impress in Pittsburgh as he struggled to produce and battled injuries routinely over his 4 years with the team. This trade is a real buy low move by Shero. Bennett fills a positional need as he plays right wing but if his trends continue he doesn’t provide much else. What we can hope is a change of scenery and a larger role (a la Palmieri) helps jumpstart Bennett’s production. When healthy Bennett has shown flashes of being the guy who put up 120 points in the BCHL in his draft year. Worst case scenario this trade is another warm body in a position lacking warm bodies. The only real problem with the trade is that there were rumors that Nail Yakupov was being shopped around for a 3rd round pick. Yakupov would be a much higher upside right wing to take a flyer on, even if it meant parting with Jon Merrill as well as a 3rd round pick. Overall getting a NHL player for a 3rd round pick is a solid move.

Now here come the quick run downs of the Devils 3rd round picks and on.

73rd overall the Devils selected Joey Anderson from the USNDT. The Minnesota-Duluth bound right wing played alongside first round talents Kieffer Bellows and Clayton Keller this year. Much like Nathan Bastian Joey Anderson was the hard worker on the line. He constantly went to the front of the net and battled and picked up rebounds. He worked the corners well and got himself open for scoring opportunities. Out of all the Devils draft picks Anderson might have the heaviest and all around best shot. He should improve in his time at UMD playing alongside first round talent Riley Tufte. A very solid pick for a 3rd rounder.

80th overall the Devils picked out of Shawinigan of the QMJHL Brandon Gignac. Gignac is a skilled center with very good playmaking and skating ability. He can often be seen deking around defenders or skating through seems in the defense and scoring very pretty goals. He has very good vision on the ice as well. He possesses a quick wrist shot that is effective. The three main things to remember about him are his skating, deking, and passing. Another pick with a ton of value in the 3rd round.

102nd overall the Devils made their first of two trips to Russia as they drafted left wing Mikhail Maltsev. A large winger who is very solid defensively. Very few highlights are available but from his play at the Junior A World Championships he can be seen as a hard working guy. He excels on the fore check where he routinely had other teams pinned back in their zone. He had a good defensive stick too in his own end. Offensively he chipped in a couple goals but more can be seen from his 23 points in 29 games in the MHL. A very solid pick with upside in the 4th round.

105th overall the Devils made a very weird selection, Evan Cormier. Cormier is a goaltender from the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL. Why the Devils picked a goalie? No reason to be found here. Especially a goalie with such bad stats. Sure goalies are hard to judge in juniors and going off stats may be the wrong way to go about it but he had a rough season. Saginaw is a bad defensive team so Cormier was shelled and it showed. Some pros are that he is not easily shaken and has faced a ton of shots. Not a fan of this pick at all.

132nd overall the Devils returned to Russia to select Yegor Rykov. The 19-year-old defenseman was captain of the Russian World Junior team that won silver this year. He scored a goal in the finals to push the game into overtime with 7 seconds left in the 3rd period. So that is pretty cool. Overall he seems like a solid defenseman. He will play in the KHL this season with grown men so it should help improve his development. He already played 10 games pro last season and had 1 assist. Getting a defenseman who is capable of playing professional hockey is a good decision in the 5th round

162nd overall the Devils went to Sweden and selected Jesper Bratt from AIK. This might be the best pick by the Devils from the 4th round on. Bratt is an extremely skilled winger. He has amazing skating ability and elite hands. The problem is putting the puck in the net. His shot is very good just inaccurate at times and sometimes he struggles to finish off his amazing dekes. He is small and would need to bulk up before coming to North America but he has some of the higher end skill in the draft. Bratt is the best pick outside of McLeod in regards to value from the pick. Bratt could easily become a skilled NHL winger someday. Best deking ability of any Devils draft pick for sure.

192nd overall the Devils select overaged defenseman from the USHL Jeremy Davies. The Northeastern commit had a very good season in the USHL finishing the year with 49 points in 60 games. He will spend some time in college before jumping to pro hockey so he will probably be 21 by the time we hear from him. Overall he seems like a solid player and one the Devils can use. Not a lot to say about the 7th round pick.